The Replacement
by kikiyophoenix19
Summary: It would take a miracle to keep the TMNT together after they lose a loved one. Can a lost soul help other lost souls?
1. Calling

_Hello to all who is reading this right now. Although I am new to I have been reading stories here ever since the site has gone up. I'm not new to writing or even writing fanfictions. I've been doing this on and off for years, but laziness and writer's block kept me from starting or finishing anything. Till now…_

_As for a disclaimer…_

_C'mon people, of course we don't own anything here. That is why it is called fan fiction for a reason. This will be the only time I put up a disclaimer for any of my fan fiction work unless I otherwise felt it is needed…_

_I apologize for the pathetic first chapter, they are always hard to write, but it'll get better as the story goes on, promise._

_Now, enough of my ramblings, on with the show!_

Chapter 1

The Replacement-Calling

A lone mutant turtle limped into a dark alleyway, very dark as it was extremely late at night and there were no lit windows to illuminate his path, he was all alone…

He was looking for shelter so he can rest his tired, aching, and very bruised body. Every step he took was more painful than the last. Even the katanas strapped to his back seemed to be a heavy burden to him, weighing him down…

Burdens…

It was all he seemed to be carrying ever since he came back from home. Ever since he watched his father die right before his very eyes. Ever since the curse developed on his right hand like an infected sore…

And ever since then he has been wandering around like a crazed nomad, going from place to place but never finding a permanent home. He was searching, searching for anything and everything that can help elevate the physical and emotional pain he was going through. He looked down at his cursed hand, covered and tied down with sacred beads to hold it all in place. Yes, he realized, the sore spot did hurt him, like any good curse does. Along with the pain came the nerve racking fear because he knew that eventually the curse will kill him too, just like his beloved father…

The turtle stopped walking and leaned his weary body against the wall. He was tired, so tired. Tired of walking without a purpose, tired of thinking about how the curse fell upon him, tired of _just_ living a life that has done nothing but make him miserable. His strong shoulders started to heave up and down as sudden dry, racking sobs overcame his weak body. No tears came out though, he had no more left to use. His father's funeral and his depression made him dry out. He had no tears, no home, no family, nothing.

It was time…

Time to do something he should have done a long time ago. Before he got all caught up in a bad lifestyle that led up to all this. He hated to do it, all he wanted to do was live, but he had no choice now…

He pulled out a katana with a shaky hand. He had to take a couple of deep breaths before positioning the tip of the blade on his chest. He was going to restore some long lost honor to his broken family, it was all he could do for them now. True, it was a not as formal a ceremony as a proper ninja like himself should do, but considering his environment, it would have to do. Besides, if he was going to die from the curse eventually, he should save the time and effort and just do it now

With his face locked, set and determined, he made ready to kill himself. The only image that was going through his mind was the one woman he ever really loved, who stood by him all these years and now was going to leave alone. He looked heavenward, pleading whatever god or goddess that was out there to please forgive him. With a final deep breath, he pulled back on the sword, ready to plunge it into himself.

As he was doing so, a sudden, strong gust of wind from behind stopped him. He jerked back suddenly, ready to fight whomever was getting in his way, but found that there was nothing but a brick wall. Confused, he turned around, unsure of what to do next when the wind blew again, this time rattling a loose manhole cover to his left. He looked at it suspiciously for a moment, hesitant to do anything just yet, but strangely enough it was beckoning him to look beneath. Cautiously, he went over and lifted the lid, only to be greeted by a strong smell of sewage. He twisted his beak up is disgust, sewers were never his thing, he never liked to even take out the garbage when he was younger, it disgusted him too much. Nonetheless, after the initial smell went away, he peered down again, wondering what was in there. After a moments thought, he jumped down letting go of the lid behind him to close the opening.


	2. A Stranger in Their Midst

_Thank you to all you wonderful people who bothered to review for my story. My humble little soul is touched and pleased, as I thought no one will do it. I can see that most of you are confused (and maybe a little weirded out), others seemed to be on the right track about things, but remember that all good things are revealed in time. So you'll just have to keep reading…and reviewing :) and things will get better, promise…_

_If I make any grammer mistakes, please let me know in a constructive criticizing way :)_

Chapter 2

The Replacement-'A Stranger in Their Midst'

The turtle's lair was eerily quiet this evening, as it had been for the last three months. Not since that day they came home to find…

Raphael shuddered at the thought, it was too creepy to remember. He was still saddened and extremely angry at what his brother had done to him, his entire family. It was abandonment and betrayal all at once, his brother leaving him to lead the rest of his clan when he least expected it. Sure, when it came to the ninjitsu, he was always better skilled and more prepared than Donatello and Michelangelo, and of course he always fantasized about being the top turtle one day. But in those fantasies, Leonardo was always there…

But he wasn't, and now Raphael is sitting here in front of their many televisions, which were all blank now, thinking about the scene that lay before them the day Leonardo went missing…

Yes, missing, as none of them can accurately say that he was dead either. They just weren't sure of what had happened. Leonardo went out in the early hours of dawn to do his training exercises, of course he had gotten ticked off the day before, but he was always forgiving, and never stayed mad that long. But even Leonardo on occasion has been known to harbor a small grudge, so when he didn't come back by breakfast time, none of them were too worried, they just figured he was so pissed off that he decided to stay out a little longer to exercise his anger out. As that was another typical Leonardo thing to do, since he was till mad about the day before, they really didn't start to think about looking for him until the daylight hours turned into nighttime.

Raphael led the nighttime exercise, and it was exhilarating. How often did he ever get to lead anything? He noticed the worried looks on Don and Mike's faces, and knew that they were all thinking about where Leo could possibly be. Raphael was worried too, but his ninja training and the ingrained ability to mask his emotions allowed him to not show his feelings, as he thought that such display was a sign of weakness. So they did their nightly patrol in absolute, total silence, highly unusual for them, but that day was strange none of them even gave a comment to it.

Then it happened…

Raphael was the first to notice it: a trail of blood leading to an alley way between an Asian market and an antique clock repair shop. Suspicious and alert, Raphael beckoned his brothers to follow him. Cautiously, they followed that trail, it wasn't much more than a thin line, but nonetheless their ninja senses warned them that danger could still be about. When they reached the end of the trail, all he noticed was a huge bowl-like shape in the shadows. He was puzzled, who the hell would leave a bowl of blood out? Satanists? Wannabe vampires? Donatello was the first to step forward to take a closer look at it. A shuddered gasp from Don was all Raph needed to jog quickly to his brother's side, with Mike following in pursuit. Both of them gasped too when they found out what that object was: a giant turtle shell with a small puddle of blood in it. Now, considering there are only four known mutant turtles that live in New York, there was only one answer to whose it was…

"Leo?" Don whimpered quietly, it was all too weird to be true.

Closer inspection around that area revealed a katana whose blade was broken in half and covered in blood too. The blue wrappings around the handle gave it away…

The rest of the night was a kind of hazy dream for Raphael as he and his two remaining brothers picked up the shell and the katana and went back home with them. They explained what had happened as they showed the objects to their Sensei, who looked down on them with great grief and sadness. Michelangelo and Donatello grieved profusely. They cried, not loud and bawling like a young child, but quietly. They comforted each other and allowed themselves to talk about what happened, and they made a display of the shell and broken katana as a memorial to their lost and broken brother. Raphael thought it was creepy to display a piece of someone's body like that, yet it made perfect sense: it was all they had left of Leonardo.

Now, Raph doesn't know what Master Splinter is doing to deal with the disappearance/death of Leo, but he himself hasn't been grieving with his brothers at all. He felt none, nothing but a great big empty feeling in his gut. He believed Leo did that on purpose, he decided to give up on his family and run away. Some fearless leader he was, abandoning his family like that. Somehow though, deep down inside, Raph knew it wasn't true, but it was so much easier to put the blame on someone than having to deal with him just being gone.

He can hear the sound of sparring coming from their dojo. Don and Mike were practicing, as Master Splinter still wanted them to continue their ninjitsu training despite the loss. His reasoning is that they must be ready for anything. Raphael interpreted that to mean whoever attacked Leo was going to come after them next. It was paranoia on Don and Mike's part that got them training feverishly all the time, well it was anger too, but mostly paranoia. As for himself, Raphael trained as diligently as he normally does, being the new second-in-command (the first being Splinter) didn't make him change his routine in the slightest. He didn't want to be leader or even do ninjitsu anymore, with Leo gone it wasn't as fun or exciting to want to do either. He only did this to keep his sensei and his worried brothers happy, and to get some pent-in frustration out.

Right now, he was just sitting, thinking, at how broken his family came to be after three months. Sure they spent every night looking for Leo, but it was energy wasted and he knew they were all ready to give up. Raph was ready to give up three days after they found his brother's remains…

The sound of the sewer entrance opening reached Raphael's highly sensitive ears. The sounds of fighting still coming from the dojo meant that Mike and Don haven't heard, nor suprisingly Master Splinter. Raph shook his head, some ninjas they are, and went to 'greet' whomever was coming in uninvited into their home. He was surprised that someone managed to slip past their security systems and opened the door. Donatello must be getting sloppy because of his current depression and his obsession for training. Well, it doesn't matter now, because no one would ever get past the volatile force that is Raphael.

He calmly stood at the entrance, arms folded across his plastron, waiting for the person to come in.

But what he saw come in astounded him and his confidence and composure slipped out of him like a balloon whose air was escaping. A turtle, a mutant much like himself, came in through the door. Apparently, this one was a ninja too, and a male from the looks of him. His mask was black, his pads were gray but looked brand new, and he had a deep green skin tone, as Raph and his brothers were also different shades of green themselves. But what disturbed him the most was that this one had a pair of katanas strapped to his back. The handles were the same black as his mask, and decorated in gold designs he couldn't make out from where he was standing, but nonetheless it was a _pair _of _katanas_.

The turtle was looking around the lair with an air of someone who has never been here before, taking in his surroundings and noting where everything was at. Raph was speechless, and only one word flowed through his mind. So he decided to say it out loud.

"Leonardo?" he asked the turtle quietly.

The turtle looked at the speaker for a fraction of a second before answering.

"Yes?"


	3. A Different Leo

__

Welcome back to another chapter of my story. I feel I must apologize for this chapter being a little long winded. I feel that this is not my absolute best, but then again I'm my own worst critic. Thank you again to all who reviewed last time and now came back for more. I appreciate it!

Chapter 3

The Replacement-'A Different Leo'

Raphael clenched his fists in anger; he couldn't believe it, Leo decides to come back home _now_?

Great, just great, they spent all that time grieving and searching for nothing. Nothing! And Leo dares to look at him with a confused look on his face, as if he didn't know what he done! Raph can feel that trademark anger boiling up inside him again, a feeling he thought was dead due to Leo's disappearance.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he roared, causing the other turtle to step back a little in shock.

"What?" the one named Leo asked, apparently taken aback by this one's yelling. _Geez_, he thought, _what is his problem?_ The red masked turtle glared at him for a fraction of a second before going right up to his face. Too shocked to do anything, he allowed himself to be pushed back against one of their many pillars that held up this place while the other continued to yell in his face.

"You just decided to waltz back in here like nothing ever happened, when all this time we've been worried sick about you. We thought you were dead!"

"Re-Really?" the other turtle stuttered out. _They were worried about me? Do they know me?_ He was surprised, cause certainly he did not know who _they_ are. In fact, he didn't know who _they_ were, unless this turtle, another mutant one just like him, liked to refer to himself in a plural form, which was a strange thing to do. But then everything about this place was strange. It looked like a home, because he can tell which part was the living room; he can see openings that looked like individual bedrooms, even one room with a Japanese-style doorway. Not to mention barely registering the fact that there was _another _one like him. He would've gotten a better hold on it, if that turtle in front of him would just stop _shouting_ so much…

Raph meanwhile was dumfounded by his answer. He acted like no one was worried about him at all. How stupid can Leo get? Of course they were! He had no understanding as to why Leo was acting this way, like he doesn't know him, or his own family. Raphael was sure that Leo grew up with the rest of them. _Maybe he got amnesia or somethin'? _Yeah, that's it, he didn't need no Donny to diagnose for him, he got it all figured out. Still, Raph didn't back off of Leo's face, and he was getting pretty pissed. No one is allowed to get that close to him, without his permission…

"Get off of me!" Leo growled through clenched teeth as he pushed Raphael forcibly back. Raph stumbled a little on the steps, but quickly regained his balance while still keeping eye contact with the other turtle.Naturally, Donatello and Michelangelo decided at that moment to come out of the dojo to see what was going on. The noise coming from the entrance startled them and opened up their curiosity, as they heard another, strange voice speaking up. Don thought that he heard a bit of a southern accent from that voice, but he couldn't be sure as Raph's own voice overpowered the newer one with "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell do you mean?" the other turtle shouted back. He was slowly getting frustrated with this neanderthal of a mutant turtle. Why does he act like he knows him?

"Raph, dude, what are you…. Whoa…" Michelangelo's unfinished question hung in the air as he and Donatello looked at the newcomer with shock and a little bit of awe.

"Raphael, my son, what is going on?" Master Splinter said as he came out of his room upon hearing all the commotion outside it. But when he stepped into the main threshold of the lair, he saw _four_ turtles standing there instead of three. The fourth turtle, he can see, was looking flustered at all the attention he got, it was obvious he didn't know what was going on. It was also obvious in the ninja sensei's eyes that he didn't belong here…

Raphael, meanwhile, practically jumped out of his shell when he heard Mike speak, then practically cricked his neck when he heard his sensei's door open, and he turned quickly in that direction. He can also feel, in the middle of his forehead, a major migraine coming on from trying to reason with this stupid turtle in front of him. He just wanted a nice, quiet, peaceful night with just his dark thoughts alone. It wasn't too much to ask for, right?

Apparently, he was wrong.

Leonardo, unknowingly, was echoing Raphael's thoughts. _I just wanted a nice, quiet night; now I'm stuck in the SEWERS with these…these mutant creatures who just won't stop STARING at me like I came back from the dead. What the hell is going on here? I thought** I **was the only one that was ever mutated…_

A moment passed while they all stared at each other, or rather, they stared at him as much as he was staring at them. It was all too confusing to take in. But finally, Master Splinter broke the awkward silence.

"Who are you?" the ninja master asked pointedly. Raphael stared at him in shock; doesn't his sensei recognize his own son? But before Raph opened his mouth, the other turtle answered first.

"My name is Leonardo." He said, tentatively, while the other three turtles whispered to each other for a second before Mike said, tearfully,

"Bro, where have you been? We missed you, I hope you know…" Donny nodded emphatically while Raph just stood there, his arms folded, a satisfied smirk across his face.

Leo's eyes practically bulged out of his head. He had brothers? Since when did that happen? Splinter spoke again before he could utter a word about his surprise.

"That is not your brother, my sons…" The three turtles looked at their sensei, jaws dropped. _Not_ their brother?

"He is another mutant turtle, who just happened to have the same name. Please sit down with us, we have much to ask you." Splinter told him, leading the way to the area Raph was sitting at earlier. Raph, Mike, and Don all just looked at him for a moment before following him. Leonardo meanwhile, uttered a "Finally" in relief. He was saved just in time from, what could have been, a very mushy and awkward moment.

He was the last to come to the area as the three other turtles were already seated on the couch and the rat in one of the only two armchairs in the room. He took the other, but not before turning up his beak again at the nasty stains, exposed springs, and the very patched up cushion. He shook his head slightly at the way these creatures were living, before finally sitting down.

It did not pass unnoticed by Raphael though, as he watched the other turtle take his seat. He even took notice at how, after all the snobbish expressions he made at their armchair; he sat down in it like he owned it. His body position in the chair made him look like a confident king, and it was _that_, that made the hotheaded turtle's blood boil…

Splinter eyed the other turtle for a moment before resuming his questioning, "How did you manage to find this place?" Leonardo's easy smile made towards his master caused Raph's muscles tense up.

"Why, I just followed the voice here, that's all." He said in a soft drawl. The turtles exchanged looks with one another. _Voices?_

Splinter was unnerved, "Voices?" he asked the wayward turtle suspiciously. Maybe something happened in battle that made him lose his mind. Those cuts and bruises on his body did look nasty…

Leonardo let out a frustrated sigh; "I'm not going crazy or anything like that. There was this echo's coming from the pipes of the sewers. I couldn't make out anything of what it was saying though; I just followed it here. And it was one voice, mind you, _one_." He put the emphasis on the last word, trying to make it clear that he was perfectly sane. But the family exchanged looks once more before Splinter continued.

"And how did you manage to open the door?"

Leonardo snorted, "I didn't, you opened it for me."

"What!" Raphael jumped up, angry that he could accuse them of doing such a thing.

"Calm down, my son." Splinter told his son sternly, but patiently.

"No, I won't. He just accused us of just opening the door for him, Sensei! As if we would just leave our sewer entrance open for the whole entire world to come in to our home!"

Leonardo snorted again, "As if any reasonable person would want to be in a dump like this."

Raphael rounded on him, fire burning in his eyes, how _dare_ he insult his family, his very home? Mikey looked livid while Don simply looked at Leonardo as if he never seen anything like him before. Splinter meanwhile stayed the way he was, not reacting, but not reliquinshing eye contact either.

"Who the hell do you think you are? What, you think you had it better than this? Than us? You probably lied to us, too, telling us you are Leonardo to make us think you're our brother when really you're some crazy spy sent to kill us." Now, what Raphael said was a little far-fetched, but it could also be true at the same time. It wouldn't be the first. But somehow, even after he said that, Leonardo's face did not budge one bit. He did sound furious, though, as he said "I am Leonardo, and I'm not crazy nor a spy. And I've got the driver's license, social security card, and credit cards to prove that."

The turtles looked at him stunned driver's license? Credit card? These are all things need to have a normal life, and they didn't have any. They couldn't, not if they wanted to be found and experimented on, yet this turtle, Leonardo, had all those…and maybe more.

"So, what that on your hand?" Mikey asked the unsuspecting newcomer, desperate to even the field since that last insult he made. So Mikey did what he does best: being obnoxious, and the covered hand provided some excellent material to be nosy about, he felt he had seen something like that before. Fortunately, he was successful as Leonardo snarled and barked out

"None of your business!"

"Oooh, did he touch a nerve there, Leo?" Raph asked happily, anything that made the other turtle uncomfortable was a plus in his book. Leonardo shot a death glare his way, barely able to speak through clenched teeth.

"Don't call me 'Leo.' I hate that name. I highly prefer 'Leonardo' 'Leon' or better yet for you low class types, you can call me 'Mr. Takada.' but never call me 'Leo''" He said regally, but Raphael just smiled again as he said

"Whatever, _Leo_. I'll call you what I like." Leonardo's eye twitched, then in one movement, he was out of the chair and halfway to the sewer entrance.

"I'm leaving. I don't have to take this kind of shit from creatures like you." He called out to those still watching from behind.

"Fine, leave, have a nice life." Raph responded to Leon's retreating back. _Good riddance…_

"Stay." Splinter called out. All the turtles stopped what they were doing to look at him.

"What?" Raphael asked, that just seemed to be the word of the night.

"I said stay. There is probably a chance that he doesn't have anywhere to sleep tonight." The turtles started to protest, but Splinter simply held up a paw.

"Enough, Leon is welcomed to stay if he pleases. Uninvited or not, he is still a guest and we always offer help to those who come our way."

Leon thought about this for a moment. It was this or the streets again tonight, and of course there was only one answer to what he should do.

"Fine, I'll stay here, for now."

"You are not taking the spare bedroom." Mikey interjected. It was an insult to his brother to have that asshole sleep in there.

"No." Splinter agreed "He will be taking the couch."

Leon sighed, "Whatever, look, since I'm staying, is there a bathroom I can use? Or do I have to go out in the sewers to do my business?" He said 'sewers' again like it was a dirty word or some thing. Don could only shake his head.

"No, we have one, I'll show you where it is." And with that Don left with Leon following after. Mikey went to his bedroom shortly after that, holding his throbbing head, which just left Raph and Splinter alone in the room. Raph had only on word in his mind again, this time it was a question he aimed at Master Splinter.

"Why?"

Splinter took a moment, before turning to him and saying "Because, my son, I believe I have seen him somewhere before…"


	4. Unwanted Houseguests

_So…I got the distinct impression that if 'Leon' were real you all would have been plotting cruel and unusual deaths for him… Excellent _

_I am in awe at how well this story is doing, and here I thought I was doing a lousy plotline. Granted, I would have done this story anyway and put it up just because. But the reviews make me excited to do more… _

_So, despite the teasing I got from my friend about doing this, I'll thank all the reviewers again cause you guys do make writing this story worthwhile…_

_FYI: In case you guys didn't know, Raphael's character was totally inspiered by the Wolverine from X-Men, right down to the sais. (If you ever watch the the new cartoon, you'll see that sometimes he holds his weapons like Wolverine unsheaths his claws, uncanny, isn't it?)_

_Now an end to the boring stuff and on with the good stuff!_

Chapter 4

The Replacement-'Unwanted Houseguests'

"Hey Donny, you know that saying about fish and houseguests, how both of them stink after three days?"

Donatello looked up from his laptop to Raphael, "Yeah?"

"They should change the 'fish' to 'turtle.'"

Donatello snicked at the joke. It was true, as Leon has not left the lair in three days…literally. Don suspected it might have been due to the injuries that he had, as he spent most of the time sleeping. But he was not a happy houseguest at any rate. He never talked to them, aside from that first night. He always made faces at the food they had, but ate them anyway. He always muttered snide comments about pretty much everything in the lair, but yet he acted liked he lived there from the way he would just pick up the ramote to watch t.v. or even using the dojo. The dojo thing is what bothered the turtles most though: It was like seeing the ghost of Leonardo doing katas, but this one was anything but their lost brother.

All in all, it was not a happy household, they even begged Master Splinter to kick him out, but the rat stubbornly shook his head. He knew Leon was not popular here, yet he wanted him to stay. He felt, somehow, that this young turtle could be the savior of their torn up family, if only he would stop being so cold and snobbish, and just open up. None of the turtles, of course, saw it that way…

"Man, I wish he would _just _leave! I never get to see my shows anymore! I'm missing out on Teen Titans." Mikey whined. He and his brothers were in the kitchen sitting at the dining room table, as they didn't want to be in the same room as the unpopular turtle, who was currently watching the tube.

"Why don't you just ask him for the remote?" Don told him, not looking up from the laptop.

"I _tried_. He won't listen to me, I even yelled at him to give me the ramote, but he doesn't respond. It's like he turns deaf when I'm around…"

"It's not just you, Mikey, he does it to everyone here. Of course, I can see why he would want to ignore you." Raph told his brother teasingly. Mikey just gave him a glare in response. Don decide to step in before a fight could insue, even though it would be a welcome change as they had not done that since Leo disappeared.

"So, what does he watch?" He asked his goofy brother, eyes still focused on the computer screen.

Mikey groaned, "That's the worst part, all he does is watch the news channel. He especially likes to see the stocks and bonds report, which is about as exciting as watching mold grow on the wall of the sewers."

Don looked up. "The stocks and bonds report, huh? That's interesting…" he said, trailing off thoughfully.

Mikey made a face. "Why is that?"

Don looked back at the computer screen, typing in something. "Because it means he got some kind of business to keep up. If he does, that is just one more thing I can use to find out who in the shell he is."

Raphael looked skeptical, "C'mon, Donny, you're seriously trying to find out about him on the net? There is no way in hell that can be possible."

Don simply smiled, "Oh, but it is. See he gave himself away a little that first night. The first was the drawl that came when he spoke. It must mean that he comes from somewhere in the southern states. My guess is Texas, but you can never be too sure."

Raph snorted, "Right, like you can find a mutant turtle that once resided in Texas. He won't even be considered a legal citizen, he must've hid out like the rest of us."

Don shook his head; "I don't think so. He mentioned he would like to be called 'Mr. Takada', which led me to believe he was taken in by a human family. Why else would he have mentioned a last name?"

Mikey scratched his beak, "I don't know, I thought he was talking about his alter ego or something." The comment got a snicker out of Raph, but Don didn't seem to have noticed it, or cared, his eyes still on the screen.

"His human family must have been prominent, because of his attitude. I noticed he likes to practice the martial arts by the way he uses the dojo everyday. It made me wonder if his family was also ninja…"

"So observant, aren't ya Donny?" Raph asked his brainy brother with a sneer.

Don just shrugged, "I'm a scientist, it's what I do best." He quipped back at him.

The silence from the living area meant that the turtle they were discussing had moved on to a different spot. The turtles decided to see what his royal shellback was doing. It turned out he was in the dojo again, this time using the practice dummy with the moveable arms. He was kicking and punching, and all that gave Raphael an idea.

"Hey you," he called out to the turtle "I challenge you to a sparring match, just you and me, right here in the dojo."

Leon stopped punching the dummy long enough to look at him, then resumed what he was doing with a "No."

This made Raph a little bit angry; okay, a lot angry and he charged at the unsuspecting turtle with unadulterated rage. Or was he unsuspecting? As soon as Raph reached Leon, he was already on the other side of the room next to Don and Mike. This was a shock to all three brothers as they didn't know how good Leon was, but it didn't stop Raph from trying again. He charged once more, sais out, ready to hit Leon right in the chest. But before he can reach his target, he found his sai deflected to the side and then felt an elbow to his face. He fell to the ground on his back, his cheekbone hurting, and he watched as Leon stepped on him to go back to the practice dummy. All the while, he muttered under his breath, "Amateurs."

Raph, of course, heard that, and was about to attack Leon again when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Don, "Let him be." He advised him quietly.

"Did you not hear…?"

"Let it go, bro." Mikey told him, "We've got better ways to blow off steam tonight."

Raph looked at the clock on the dojo's wall, he realized it was 11 p.m., time to kick some sorry Dragon butts, or if they were lucky, some Foot instead.

He nodded to his brothers and in no time they were outside, away from the stifling atmosphere that was home, and proceeding to do their regular ninja exercises. They were all enjoying the night's cool breeze as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop, but it was disappointing when it seemed no action would go down tonight, though it was a Friday. The turtles were not upset, however, at least they got their frustrations out in the run, and as they jumped down to the ground, ready to head back to the nearest manhole cover, they heard a young man's voice call out:

"Ay, it's those turtle freaks!"

"And they is only three."

"Ain't this a special test or somethin'? To kill all the freaks an' we get a special reward or somethin'?"

The turtles turned around to see two Purple Dragons; new, as they looked like they were in their late teens and obviously very stupid because they didn't know what they were going up against.

"This is going to be fun." Raph simply stated, taking out his sais.

"Ay, where's the other freak? I thought they was four of you?"

His buddy snickered, "Prolly at home cryin' like a baby."

The other snickered too, "Or, maybe we be lucky that one is already dead…"

Raph was definitely seeing red now, no one was going to sit there and trash talk about his brother in front of him, and think they can get away with it. And before he knew it, his anger was taking over his body and his mind, and he felt himself leaping out at the still snickering teens. He didn't hear Don call out his name as he attacked; he didn't hear both of his brother's warnings as he reared his right arm back to strike out at them. All he knew was vengeance; sweet and bitter as chocolate and nothing would stop him from getting what he wanted…

Until a crowbar out of nowhere smacked the side of his head.

For the second time that night, Raph was on his back, after hitting his side on the wall of the shop that was closed down for the night. He felt dizzy as he tried to get up, and he heard his brothers fighting the reinforcements that came in to help the young punks in time.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here."

He felt himself being picked up by the shell, and when he finally got his eyes to focus, he saw he was face to face with Dragonface, one of the few heads of the Purple Dragons. The sneer on his face told Raphael that he was enjoying every second of this, and knew he was going to be tormented a little before they killed him. It made him feel pathetic; a sentiment that was echoed by Dragonface himself.

"It's so sad, the great, undefeatable turtles are going to die tonight by our hands. Ah, Saki is not going to be pleased, he always wanted to kill youse himself you know, and now we are going to do it for him. It's a good thing that leader of yours is out of the way, or else we wouldn't be having any fun." He told the raging turtle. Raph tried to fight back, to hit with everything he could muster, but suddenly realized his arms were pinned behind his back. He looked up to see the appalling grin of Two-Ton, the second biggest Dragon next to Hun, and he realized that it was he who picked him up. Raph turned to his brothers only to find that they too were pinned down much the same way he was, and he couldn't help them. The gruesome spikes, chains, and clubs all the gang members were holding gave him a horrible sense of foreboding. He and his brothers were going to die tonight, all because he acted too quickly and too rashly. One of the members proudly presented Dragonface the most biggest and nastiest of the clubs like it was something holy, and it probably was too as Dragonface swung the club upwards. Raphael closed his eyes, waiting for the pain that was to come…

But never did.

Instead, he heard an exclamation of "What the-?" before the perpetrator went down. He felt the guy holding him go down too, letting go of Raphael. As he turned around ready to fight, he saw that all the members of the Dragons, and there were more than thirty of them too, down on the ground. Some moaning, some twitching, and some were just not moving, period. This stunned Raphael, and before he can discern what had happened, he felt a hand pull him up and a voice saying, "Come on!" There was no need to tell him twice, he could hear the sirens that were coming, so he decided to follow his brother's footsteps, all the way into an alleyway between two abandoned buildings. Only there, once he felt sure he, and his brothers, was safe, he peeked around to see the police milling around the fallen bodies. It would have given him immense satisfaction if he had been the one to do the damage, but he didn't. So he wondered who could have helped them out when they were in such a tight spot, and was about to voice the question aloud when he heard someone say,

"It was me."

That soft drawl could only belong to one turtle, and Raph looked behind him to see Leon standing there, looking just a regal as his brother would have had he been standing there instead. It was just too bad he was not…

"I told you guys that you were amateurs." He told them all simply, his arms crossed on his plastron. Mikey gave a low, angry growl; a sound that was rarely heard from the fun-loving turtle. But with the adrenaline rush that came from the ambush and Leon's sudden appearance, it obviously put him in a bad mood. The insult just took the cake.

"Ya know, I was about to thank you for helping us, but now…" he drifted off, an unknown fire burning in his eyes.

"We were doing just fine without you, and would have gotten out eventually. So we didn't need your help." Don told the mysterious turtle, obviously very angry himself. Leon took no offense to that statement; he just stared at him instead. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke again, no emotion evident in his voice.

"Sure you were fine, I guess you would be fine after you found yourselves six feet under, or better yet, just dumped somewhere to rot. You guys were _horrible_; it was like watching a badly choreographed dance take place. There was no organization, no structure, and you didn't even look around you to see if there was anyone waiting to ambush you. And your pathetic excuse for a leader would have led you all to your deaths if I hadn't came and saved your butts at the last minute." Leon shook his head, disappointment evident in his body language, "Splinter told me you guys were at the peek of you ninjitsu skills, but after tonight I'm beginning to wonder whether or not that was just fatherly pride speaking for you guys."

Those words could not have stung any more than if Leon had punched them all hard in the gut, but his words affected Raphael the most. How true they rung, he knew what he had done, what he should have done, to ensure that all their lives would be spared. He was beginning to wonder if this is what Leonardo had felt when something like this goes wrong, if it ever did, cause Raphael could hardly remember a time when his perfect brother ever failed. If Leo told him all the things he should have done right, well, he would have argued but ultimately would have had to agree with him on all those things that were pointed out. Coming from Leon though, a total stranger, it felt like a jab at his ninja skills, and that he wasn't about to take that. So Raph got up, slowly as he was still reeling from the injury from earlier, and started to stalk off.

"Raph?" Don asked gently, his eyes knitted together in concern.

"Leave me alone." Raph mumbled audibly.

"Where do you think you're going?" Leon demanded.

"None of your business!" Raph snapped; he was starting to act like Leo and it was irritating.

"Of course it's my business, I saw the crowbar earlier, you are in no shape to be walking around by yourself." Leon stated matter of factly.

"He's right, you might have developed a concussion." Don said, stepping forward to help his injured brother.

"Don't tell me you're starting to agree with him!" Raph growled, straining to get out of Don's grip. He stopped when he saw the sudden expression of fear on Leon's face.

"What?" He asked the suddenly nervous turtle. Leon was looking around him, obviously sensing danger, then he snapped back to them with a "We got to get back to the lair, now!"

"Wha-?" Raph asked, dumbfounded by the sudden change in mood. Don and Mike simply stared.

"Now!" Leon said, running for the nearest manhole cover. The urgency in his voice made the rest of the turtles follow behind, all of them wondering what could be so wrong at home.


	5. Psycho

_Augh! It was so hard to write this chapter, although the begining was kinda fun to do. Anyway, I wanted to put this chapter up before midnight, so here it is. If it has any inclination that it was hastily written, then I'm sorry, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless._

_By the way, I kinda, sorta brought back A TMNT character from the old cartoon series. I revamped the character a little to fit my story, and if you wonder what this dude has to do with this story...well...you'll see. If any of y'all don't like what I done then tough, it's my story and I'll do what I want to._

_Otherwise than that, enjoy and thanks!_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 5

The Replacement-'Psycho'

It was late at night in the dim lair. Nothing was out of place; not a sound was heard or made…

It was definitely a moment Splinter could definitely appreciate.

The ninja master knelt quietly on the meditation mats in the dojo area, taking advantage of his sons' absence. He even could have meditated with Leon there, as the guest hardly ever made a sound during the day. But he was gone too, probably went outside to finally get some fresh air, the poor thing. He had been watching the turtle closely the past three days. He saw him inspect the lair, not with a sense of a regal, 'this isn't good enough for me' air, but with pure curiosity and fascination. He seemed impressed at how they lived, although his comments said otherwise. For one who said that they would only stay one night, he had certainly outstayed his welcome, at least in his sons' eyes. But Splinter didn't mind having the reclusive turtle; there was something about him he couldn't ignore. In his meditations, he tried to get some barring on Leon, but all he got was an image of a scared turtle hiding near a stairway, peeking out between the railings. It could have been a memory that had been pushed back into his mind a long time ago, or it could have been that he was thinking of his own sons, who looked too much like the young turtle inside his head. Normally, when he had a feeling about something, he was usually right. This time, he was having some doubts about the image that kept popping up inside his mind every time he thought of Leon, perhaps it was a sign from the beyond?

So Splinter kept meditating, surrounded by the candles the warmed and lit up the dark lair. It was comforting, to have the soft glow instead of the harsh light that electricity can produce, the light that his sons were so fond of. He was in his zone, his element, and nothing can distract him from it….

Except…

Splinter's ears perked up as he heard a sound being made in the lair. He could not discern exactly what the sound was. It was a low groan, but on closer inspection it actually sounded like 'mmmm' and it's echo's were repeated constantly, so the sound ended up surrounding the rat like a tangled net, not a good feeling to have when you are in an empty room.

Something, _someone_, was in here that shouldn't be…

The wise, old rat stood up, cautiously, warily. His ninja senses were kicking into overdrive as he inspected around him. He could not detect a single shadow that was out of place, and that worried him, for it meant that the intruder has mastered the way of invisibility so well that the ninja master couldn't see hide nor hair of him…or her.

This was _really_ not good, not good at all.

He readied his mind and his body. If the intruder were to attack, it would not catch the ninja master off guard. But the intruder seemed to be biding its time, stretching out the moments, making the old rat sweat. Splinter could not take much more of this, he could not take that that this person could violate his privacy so carelessly, so purposely. And it didn't seem to care if it was going to live or die either. So he decided to call it out instead, hoping that's what it was waiting for, so he can finally see what in the world is haunting him so badly.

"Show yourself! Come and face me like a true warrior. Prove that you have some honor!"

He waited for the response, but silence ensued. Then, in a voice that made chills run down his spine, he heard,

"…rat…"

It was only a horse whisper, but it sounded like hunger, there was no other word to explain it. He was being hunted, and it was only a matter of time before he was caught.

"…mmmm…rat…yummy…"

Splinter fought hard against the rising desire to flee, as it was in his nature to do so when such danger was about, but he was a ninja, and ninjas do not run away from threats. He wanted to face this creature, whatever it was, and fight it like he had been taught to do. He couldn't explain why he was so scared; after all he was a four-foot giant rat, what could possibly eat him now? But he knew deep down inside; this was no ordinary predator he was facing, this one sounded as if he had gone _insane_.

Splinter backed up all the way to the stairwell, facing the sewer entrance as he did so, hoping against hope that the thing would move into the poor light. He needed to get to a light switch and fast, so he can see it more clearly, but before he could move to do that, he felt a drop of water on top of his head. Looking up, he thought he was going to see a leak coming out from one of the many pipes running through the lair.

But what he found was much, _much_ worse…

Upside down, he can tell it was a turtle, but its sinister grin showing its appalling teeth, made him think other wise. He backed away from the creature hastily, not wanting to be drooled on some more. The creature dropped down with the grace of a well-trained ninja, and pulled out a pair of badly chewed katanas, yes, _chewed_, like a pencil. It leapt down, then rolled close to the fear-filled rat, and sniffed at him experimentally, as if it was trying to determine that he was good enough to be eaten. Obviously, he was because suddenly it came down hard, biting Splinter on the shoulder was proceeding to rip the flesh away.

"SENSEI!"

Out of nowhere, a heavy object forced the carnivore off of the ninja master, causing him to fall back in surprise.

"Hurry, restrain him!"

"Wow, he's strong."

"Ewww, does that even look like a turtle to you?"

Splinter got up slowly trying not to move his shoulder, nothing ever tried to eat him before, since he's been a pet, and therefore always been in the safety of his cage.

Guess there is a first time for everything.

"Are you okay, sensei?" Raphael asked him worried. He and Leon knelt down to the ground to inspect the old rat, they looked at his shoulder and cringed; the bite wound was flowing freely and many of the muscles were exposed.

"Wow, that thing did a number on you." Leon commented.

"This requires some major stitches and a lot of antibiotics." Donatello observed, tenderly picking up his sensei by putting a supporting hand behind his back. Splinter was still in shock, much of it was going away thanks to the rescuing presence of his sons and Leon, and his state of mind is slowly returning to normal. The lights were finally on and Splinter took a good look at the thing that attacked him. It was truly hideous to behold for the thing was a turtle, but it had some kind on mold growing on its shell, making it look fuzzy. It's eyes were no more than crude slashes, it's skin was the color of a puke green, but most horrifying of all was the razor-sharp pointy teeth that it was showing off while trying to get out of Mikey's grip.

"We need to go somewhere safe, obviously that thing was sent after us, so that means someone knows where we live." Don announced; cleaning up Splinter's wound the best he could, but it was still bleeding.

Leon was just staring at the beast, never taking his eyes off of it; he just had a bad feeling about where that thing came from. And if he was right, then it was his fault that this had happened…

"Hello, earth to turtle, what are you thinking about?" Raph inquired, interrupting the lone turtle's thoughts.

"I'm sorry, was there something that required my attention?" Leon asked, it was the first time he said he was sorry about anything, which was a shock to anyone in the room, but Raph retained his cool as he said,

"Yeah, we were wondering if you had an idea about a safe place to go, although I told Sensei here that I doubt it, since you seemed to be wandering around and all."

Leon looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Yes, I do, but I really don't want to go back there."

"Why not?" Raph inquired, he really wanted to know what made this turtle tick, and going to a place he lived seemed to be a good start. And if he had a place after all, then why bother them? It obviously was better then here, that's for sure.

Leon's face was expressionless; "I don't want to talk about it."

But before Raph could form a response to that blunt, quick statement, he heard a cry from his brother.

"OWWWWW! He's trying to eat my arm!"

"Slash want yummy! Slash wants yummy now! Turtle taste good!"

They all turned to see that the thing was now proceeding to tear apart Mikey's forearm. Horrified all of them made moves to help Mikey, but Leon got there first. With a swish of his katana, he quickly sliced the thing diagonally, from left shoulder down to the stomach, and the creature cried out in agony. He cleaned the blood off of his sword with a tissue that was nearby, then pocketed it in his belt. Luckily, everyone was to preoccupied with Mike and his wound to notice what Leon had just done, except for the fact that he had the sense to kill the damn monster before anything worse happened. The turtles are just not used to killing just because, they valued all life, but not Leon. Why he didn't do it before now was beyond any of them, but it didn't matter at the moment, as there were now two people in desperate need of medical help.

"Well, are you going to help us out now?" Raph demanded, putting pressure on Mike's wound. Mike was whimpering about what had happened to him, every so often you can hear him mutter the word 'rabies,' and it may be true as the body was starting to foam at the mouth now…

Leon gave a sigh that indicated he didn't really want to, but outwardly he said, "Fine, it's a long way so we need to take a vehicle of some sort…if you have one."

"We do." Don said simply, he then turned to Raph, "Can you help Sensei and Mike get to the Battle Shell? Raph…?"

Raphael was leaning heavily on the back of an armchair, he felt a sudden wave of dizziness came over him and as bad as he tried to shake it, it was much too hard…

"Raph!"

He felt darkness closing in on him and the last memory he had was of Leon rushing over….


	6. And it Unfolds

_Hi, after all those one shots and poems, I finally decided to do a new chapter for this story. I was having some writer's block, but I finally got inspired to do it, thanks to an online fan manga/comic for the TMNT._

_I found it in someone's bio (yes, I read your bio's people! How else am I going to see what stories you have done, or even read stories that you liked) and the coolest thing about it was that I found a link to this comic and was very hooked on the storyline, but it is unfinished (cries). If you guys are interested, I'll put up a link to this on my bio, so you can also partake in the wonder's of this site._

_Yeah, I can hear you all telling me to shut up and get on with my story, so without further ado…_

Chapter 6

The Replacement-'And It Unfolds'

"Raph?"

Donatello's face was blurred; all that he could make out was a mere shadow with an outline. He could tell it was his brother because the purple band across his forehead was a dead giveaway…

Dead.

He didn't know what had happened to him; last thing he remembered was blacking out and Leon coming to…

Raph sat up ramrod straight, fear engulfing his every muscle, but upon inspection he realized he was still alive. Relief was again replaced by uncertainty as he looked at the area around himself. It wasn't the lair, _sunlight_ doesn't penetrate the dark sewers, so what in the world…?

"We're in Leon's place." Donatello answered the unspoken question that his brother was forming. Raph looked at him, sometimes he wondered if there was some kind of strange psychic connection between his brothers, or maybe it was simply the experience of living with someone for so long. Either way, this one hell of a place Leon got himself. He saw that the décor was simple and minimalistic, with Japanese touches here and there like a statue or a kanji painting. It gave an image of a rich businessman wearing an expensive suit talking on a cell phone to one whom had no idea who lived here. In fact Raph still couldn't believe that _Leon _lived here…

"You got to be kidding me, who would let an ass like Leon live here? Unless the human was unfazed by the fact he was a giant talking turtle."

Don just looked at him, "Leon owns this penthouse, I believe he owns this whole building, there are no humans living here as far as I know."

Raph felt his jaw drop, guess that explains a lot, like the attitude that he had.

Don smiled at his brother's bewilderment, "In case you wanted to know, you did suffer a concussion after all. Lucky for you it was a short coma, just one night, guess your hard head benefited you after all." He allowed himself to chuckle at that, remembering fondly all the times Leo told Raph he was too stubborn, it was a pun on the word, and seeing the frown on Raph's face, he got the meaning of it too.

"Where is Mikey and Master Splinter?" he asked his quiet brother, Don shook his head.

"They are in a separate room, recuperating from their wounds, they lost a lot of blood, but not enough to lose total consciousness. I think they are sleeping and-hey where are you going?" He asked his short-tempered brother, as Raph had already thrown back the covers and was proceeding to walk out of the room.

"I'm going to check on them, what else? Besides, we need to get out of this place, I know we aint welcomed here, so if they can move, we're leaving."

"But-" Don began but just a glare from Raph was enough to shut his beak. Don sighed, and got up to follow his brother, when his brother wanted to do something, there was no stopping him.

They went into what appears to be the main area of the penthouse, and it was filled with gadgets only a true nerd like Donny can appreciate. The top of the line stereo and DVD player, the surround sound speakers, automatic fireplace, an intercom system. These are things he and his brothers always dreamed about, but knew they never could have, and here Leon got it all, since when did a turtle get so damn lucky?

In there they found Mikey and Splinter lounging on the sofa, apparently they had been awake for some time, and both looked well despite the bandages on their body.

"Hey dude! You're up! Why don't you sit down and have some tea with us? The cook here is excellent! Leon is one lucky turtle!" Mikey exclaimed upon seeing his brothers come into the living room, which was just as nice, if not nicer, than the bedroom they came out of. Raph heard his brother, but he was actually looking at Master Splinter. It seemed the wise rat has taken an interest in a picture that was placed on a side table next to him. He was staring at it with such intensity; he didn't quite acknowledge his two sons entering the room. Unfortunately for Raph though, Don spoke up first.

"Sensei? What's the matter?" the ever observant turtle asked, Splinter looked up, surprised, then put the picture down on the table.

"Nothing important, my son. Ah, Raphael, I see that you are better this morning, or should I say afternoon?"

"You're lookin good too, Sensei…wait, is it afternoon already? Don gave me the impression that it was the morning."

"Hey, don't blame your lame guesses on me, I never told you it was morning." Don informed his hothead brother indignantly.

"It doesn't matter, If you and Mikey are okay, than I'd like to leave here, we might be outstayin' our welcome." Raph informed his master, but Splinter just stared at his son.

"You don't quite know whether or not we need to leave, Leon has been quite generous to us."

"Exactly why I want to leave, for some strange reason, I don't trust this place." It was true, he had a feeling that Leon was trying to hide something, whatever it is, and it could not be good.

Splinter held his gaze for a little while longer, then nodded, "Fine, we shall leave now."

Mikey's face fell, "Awww, but Sensei, my pizza-"

He fell quiet as the master held up his paw, "We should do as your brother wishes, he may be onto something. I feel the same thing, although I do not quite know what it is."

Mike whimpered slightly, but got up to follow his Master. Raph was satisfied that he managed to convince his sensei, but now had to figure out which door was a exit to outside, and most importantly, how the shell do you open them?

It was his hope that Donatello could figure this out…

"What do you mean it wasn't there anymore?"

"It just wasn't, Takada-san, I swear, it seemed to have put itself back together. I-I can't understand this myself." A worker in a lab coat told a very angry Leon. It was apparent that the turtle creature that attacked the turtles in the lair was gone-no blood, no skin, nothing. Just…gone. Leon couldn't believe it.

It was dead, beyond dead even.

How could that be?

No one knew the location of that lair except himself and the other turtles, and the rat too, of course.

He thought it was crazy to think that the turtle-thing just put itself back together and just walk out like that. It was too impossible, yet it struck him as possible at the same time. A true monster in every sense of the word.

The worker was cowering under the looming presence of Leon. He was in a lab, underneath the penthouse building. The whole purpose of this building is not to have a place to live in, but to research and experiment on the very thing that his father had been trying to find out. But they were no closer to getting it right, and now someone had beaten him to the punch. He had his personal scientists analyze the blood that was on the tissue, and they had concluded that the creature had almost the same kind of DNA that Leon has.

_Almost_ is the word, apparently there was something else in there too. A chemical alteration and Leon only knew of one thing that can do that, it had changed him, and he was pretty sure it changed the family he met too.

He almost had the formula figured out, it was almost perfect, almost right. There were just a couple of glitches in it, but once those were smoothed out, he was done. It would become a miracle drug to the people, and it would be worth millions of dollars.

Then maybe, he would finally be a respected member of his family.

But the fact that he got competition was worrying him, and the fact that this competition tried to kill him; yes, him, he just happened to not be in the lair at that time and Splinter got it instead, was even more troublesome than anything else.

He actually cared a lot about Splinter and his sons, although he doesn't show it. It was weird really, to actually care about people that you barely met, but here he was living proof of that. Why else would he get that strange sense of foreboding to go after the turtles, or even that same feeling about Master Splinter?

Even stranger was that he felt he had seen, known, Splinter at some point in his life, he just can't place where…

A static noise coming from a nearby giant screen interrupted his thoughts. He turned to face it, and was surprised to see the face of a longtime enemy of his family: Agent Bishop.

Bishop's face looked smug as he stared down at Leon. Leon's own face was set, no emotion was going to extrude from him whatsoever.

"I've been watching you, Leon, ever since you came back. Are you surprised to find more creatures like yourself? You thought you were the only one, didn't you?"

Leon kept his expression nonchalant; he wasn't going to let Bishop get the best of him.

Bishop was still talking, "Well, now you can really be unique, because after tonight, you _will _be the only one left…"

A sound of male screaming was all it took for Leon to drop his guard, "No, how can that be…?"

Bishop laughed maniacally, "Next time, keep your stray lambs in one place."

And with that, the screen went blank.

_A/N: I'm sorry that took forever, I had two chapters' to write. One is for the Teen Titans story 'Shellshocked' (hosted by my friend, Daedric Athena, by the way. If you take this to mean that I want you guys to read it…well, I do.) This chapter could have gone better for me, but I did the best I could. I was thinking of rewriting what I got so far…I'm still deciding whether or not I should…._


End file.
